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To date, no comprehensive treatment of Egyptian magic has focused on the practice of the magician. Both general studies and textual publications have emphasized instead the religious elements in the contents of recited spells, while the accompanying instructions, with their vignettes and lists of materials, instruments, and ritual actions, remained uninvestigated. This study represents the first critical examination of such "magical techniques," revealing their widespread appearance and pivotal significance for all Egyptian "religious" practices from the earliest periods through the Coptic era, influencing as well the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri. The author also discusses the "pagan-Egyptian" influence on Old and New Testament practices and in the lives of the Coptic Desert Fathers. The third edition is a reprinting of the second, which included minor corrections from the original edition. This volume is a significant revisionist approach to ancient Egyptian magic. As a result of a methodical analysis of both the textual and archaeological records, Ritner concludes that the boundaries between ancient Egyptian magic, religion, and medicine were not as strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by strictly observed as modern commentators believe. Furthermore, he categorically denies the frequent attempts of moderns to define ancient Egyptian magic as a phenomenon dealing with the supernatural, practiced primarily for nefarious purposes sub rosa by individuals outside of the religious mainstream. Ritner's engaging prose style and felicitous exegesis of even the most arcane material make for easy reading. But more important still, the content of the work ensures that it will become a vital reference tool for all engaged in any aspect of ancient Egyptian religion.[From a review by R. S. Bianchi in Journal of the American Oriental Society 114 (1994) 513-14]. xviii + 322, 22 b/w figs, 2 tbs (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 54, Oriental Institute 1993, revised edition 1997)
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STUDIES IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION * No. 54
THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
THOMAS A. Richard M.
HOLLAND,
Schoen,
Editor
Assistant Editor
oi.uchicago.edu
oi.uchicago.edu
Internet publication of this work was made possible with the generous support of Misty and Lewis Gruber
The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice
by Robert Kriech Ritner
Is it not a silly sort of argument to reckon by the same works that one man is a god whilst his rivals are mere "sorcerers"? Celsus. On the True Doctrine R. J. Hoffmiann 1987, p. 66
THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO STUDIES IN
ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION CHICAGO * ILLINOIS
* No.
54
oi.uchicago.edu
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-61830 ISBN: 0-918986-75-3 ISSN: 0081-7554 The OrientalInstitute, Chicago © 1993 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 1993. Printed in the United States of America.
SECOND PRINTING 1995 (with minor corrections on pages 67, 69, 100, 140, 141, 152, 153, 204, 206, 231, 245, 275,293, 303, and 320) THIRD PRINTING 1997 (with minor corrections on pages 44, 195, 211, and 320) FOURTH PRINTING 2008 (with minor corrections on pages 59, 114, 1 15, 116, 193, 194, 198, 253, 282, 303, 304, 316, 317. and 320)
Winner of the 1994 Heyman Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication in the Humanities, Yale University
REVIEWS Robert Steven Bianchi. Journalof the American OrientalSociety 114 (1994): 513-1